Lights Out: Power Grid Failure

WrongHanded

Well-known member
While the cybercrime scenario could very well produce a cascading blackout scenario, I don't think that the resulting physical destruction scenario would necessarily follow. Transformers are individually protected from overload by physical circuit breakers, which open and take the transformer off line before it's damaged. (Ask any squirrel that tried shorting a transformer). Replacing the circuit breaker takes about 15 minutes after the utility truck arrives on scene. I can't speak to other equipment, but I think it's a pretty good assumption that the generators and the distribution network are similarly physically protected from actual physical damage due to demand overload.
Yeah, I really don't know. I just remember the claim in the book that the large transformers at sub-stations (or whatever the places are called why high voltage gets stepped down for local distribution) could be irreparably damaged. But perhaps not.
 
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